The Nightmare Returns
by LaDyOfThEdArKeYeS
Summary: One year after Fiona escaped Belli castle, who would have known she would cross paths with a certain American agent in the cold shallow country of England... Haunting GroundxResident Evil 4 crossover
1. Life in the shallow country of England

_She was walking through a long, long hallway… A white sheet was the one thing covering her bare body. There was a bright light at the end, but the closer she moved, the farther it seemed. The floor was cold underneath her feet, and her ponytail danced a little through her back as she moved. Somebody was watching her… Movement was sensed through the path she left behind.

* * *

_

"Dang it Hewie!" giggled Fiona Belli as her dog Hewie licked her face, awakening her from her dream

She petted him on his chin, and he licked her hand back as if saying he was enjoying that.

Fiona then walked to the bathroom passed a little cold water through her face, tied her hair up in her usual ponytail, and dressed up very informally with a white top, blue jeans and a pair of white shoes. Then she made her bed, and exited her rented house, followed closely by her faithful dog Hewie. At the exit she commanded him to sit, and so the German Sheppard did.

"You keep a watch on the house while I'm out boy!" she said and the dog barked back at her as if saying 'Roger that!'

The she walked down the street to catch the bus that led her to her college.

It had been a while since she had dreamt of Belli Castle. She had managed to escape that horrid nightmare exactly one year ago. One year ago she had left the castle she had inherited, along with all of the bad experiences, memories and horrors that had happened there. Her mom and dad were gone, but she had chosen to proceed with her life, and become the nurse she had always told them she would be when she was done with college. But the fact that she had dreamt again with the place of her deepest nightmares, was something that could be considered as a rather odd surprise.

But her life was calm now… She had decided to move to Cambridge, and there she was: Struggling to have a life like any college student would. With Hewie as her only support.

She placed her head on the cold glass of the bus, watching as the clouded sky announced that there would be rain on that day.

"Rain again…" mumbled Fiona to herself as the bus made its way through the small town.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Damn it…" said Leon S Kennedy as he watched the time in the clock

9:00 am…

It was so confusing to him, how he was waking up at the precise time the people in America were going to bed. He glanced at the breakfast Judy, his maid, had left him at the table near the window of his room.

"How can they eat for breakfast what WE have for lunch?!" he asked himself as he stood up and picked up one of the French fries, and drove it to his mouth.

A strange country England was…

He even laughed quietly to himself when he remembered how confused one of the citizens was when he asked for the directions of his "apartment". He later knew that the British people had some words in their vocabulary that distinguished them from Americans. Instead of "apartment", he should have said "flat" when he asked for directions.

Leon was slowly realizing that he wouldn't be having the same life he had back at the United States. He had only moved there temporarily, due to a promotion he couldn't deny, due to personal discomfort.

Ever since he had rescued the President's daughter, Ashley Graham, from Spain, his popularity had gotten out of control.

As expected, he was a national hero for returning with her alive. Every single one of his co-workers glanced at him with envious eyes, because he was the proud of the nation. Now he was receiving all the praise for being the President's daughter's "guardian", while the millions of cops in America fought bank robbers, drug addicts, and criminal organizations, among other problems that disturbed the world every day. And practically none of them had their name on the news. Nor did they receive an ovation from the White House. And they were never ever officially recognized as "National Heroes" on TV.

He couldn't do his job normally anymore, due to the fact that the President had hired him as Ashley's "Guardian". Permanently. And no one else had tried to even harm a hair on Ashley's head. She made her life normally with him behind her as her puppy. He even had to put up with all the parties she went with her friends.

At a certain time it was a real headache to him doing the same thing every day, and being hated for that reason. Yes, the envy against him from most cops in America only grew. They even criticized him publicly saying it was a shame that he was receiving such praise due to the fact that he "Went to Spain for a few days as a holiday, picked up the girl like someone picking a kid from school, and returned". The frustration that he felt was more painful than when he had the plagas inside his body during his mission in Spain. What did they knew about what he had done in the mission? If they were in the dangerous mission, fighting against the Los Iluminados, would they have even survived? Or would they have ended up having a fate like those two Spanish cops that had come with him (or who knows even worse)?

The critics however grew worse, and so did his obligations of protecting Ashley, like she was some sort of crystal doll ready to break, even if someone placed a tiny finger on her.

Until a promotion from the British police had came. And he, willing to exit from that cage he called his country, and with some friction from his boss and from the President, accepted it without thinking twice.

He needed a change. He needed a life without so many pressures. And that opportunity came with that promotion.

Leon took the fork lying next to the dish with his English breakfast (bacon with French fries and eggs), and glanced again at his breakfast.

"Guess it's always better than being on some crazy diet…" he said and five minutes later the plate was clean

Minutes later Judy had arrived again at the apartment room he had bought temporarily, took one fast glance through the room only to find Leon still laying on his bed watching his small cheap TV.

"Went out to eat Mr Kennedy?" asked the almost 40-year-old maid with her British accent easily noticeable

"I already ate!" replied Leon pointing to the plate where his breakfast was

"But that was your breakfast! You need some more food!" protested the maid concerned of her recent boss

"I don't feel so starving today…" said Leon playing with the remote on his hand

"And they say you Americans eat like pigs!" commented Judy as she undressed her coat and went to the kitchen stands to get the vacuum

Leon stopped when news regarding the White House came on.

"_And now we are catching a glance of the President and his family as the President walks to speech in a year of elections!"_

And standing beside her mother and a guy Leon assumed was her brand new bodyguard, was Ashley. She didn't seem very happy.

Half smiling to himself Leon rose himself up with a lazily grunt.

"Going out to follow my advice Mr Kennedy?" asked Judy as she turned on the vacuum cleaner.

"Just feeling like strechin' my legs not eating!" said Leon putting on his jacket and leaving, unsure if she had heard him or not.

It was a rather cold day. The environment in England was far colder than the one he had caught in Spain. He could now see his breath coming out of his mouth in the shape of a cloud. His hands were now buried deep in his pockets. It was rather strange to him walking around without his handgun. But his job would only begin in two days. He had therefore two days to adapt himself to this new life.

In two days it was "back to risking-you-skin" day. Who would have thought that his first grand promotion was in such a cold shallow country like London…

* * *

Meanwhile at 'Angel's Lair'...

"Miss Belli! Table 3 on the double!"

"Right sir!"

"Belli! They are still waiting for their tea on table 5!"

"I'm on it!"

Today was being a busy day at the café where Fiona worked for a part-time. She was already sick of having to hear her bosses' rough arrogant voice calling either "Belli" or "Miss Belli". She needed some money to keep eating, despite the fact that her parents had left her quite a budget. But she knew she couldn't consider herself lucky for being a "daddy's little girl" or a "momma's little piggy". A good and easy life was won with effort!

She walked to the kitchen, placed her back against the wall and rested for a while. Definitely the adventure on Belli castle hadn't risen up her strength. She was feeling more tired than when she ran for hours from Debilitas, Riccardo, Daniella, even from Lorenzo.

"You okay there Fiona?" asked Lucy, her co-worker, and god friend handing her a glass of water

"I'm alright!" replied Fiona back taking a quick sip of water "But the Man sure is cranky today!"

"Heh… You're telling me!" said Lucy chuckling in a low voice

"Good thing I'll be out of here in about half an hour or so…" said Fiona walking to continue with her job

"Yeah... You would knew what Hell was if ya worked full-time!" exclaimed Lucy

_"You don't even know of the hell I knew..."_ thought Fiona to herself

As she served coffee, she smiled gracefully to the customers. She barely showed any emotion, but when she smiled, people knew immediately that it was a smile that was coming from her heart. Some customers had told her that indeed, and most of them becamue usual custommers, thanks to her charm.

"Belli, you're dismissed!" said her boss after a while saying the words she was longing to hear after a busy day on service

"Thanks!" she said almost hoping of relief

So Fiona placed away her waitress uniform and just when she was getting ready to leave, she crossed paths with a peculiar-looking young man on the exit…

* * *

**So what did ya think?**

**Please review if you believe I'll make good twitches :P**


	2. Coincidence after coincidence

As she moved a little aside to allow the young man through, she noticed his glance upon her.

He was very tall with blond hair, straw color, blue eyes ocean colored, a very pale skin, and a jacket that made him very large shoulders. His gaze pierced though her insides like an arrow being thrown to a target.

He seemed gentle, she thought as she felt her face becoming a little hotter despite the cold that waited for her outside. Before she walked away pressing her long jacket against her body she noticed him talking to Lucy. She also seemed stunned by his presence.

But Fiona kept moving on. She was far too grown to be having silly crushes over someone good-looking.

As she stepped on the bus to get home faster, she allowed two men and an old lady to step out before she made her way inside.

Leon hopped out of the bus, rubbing the palms of his hands against each other. It had sure gotten colder in the afternoon. Strangely enough that frosting air was sure rising up his appetite.

He glanced randomly on the streets. 'Angel's Lair' one of the cafes said.

"Worth a shot…" mumbled Leon to himself as the bus behind him took off

He entered the café and noticed how crowded it was. He sat immediately near the counter, being immediately attended by a young girl with short blond hair with pink locks on the tips, and some freckles noticeable on her white face.

"Wha' can I get you Sir?" asked Lucy trying to hide the fact that she was tired of being there, but sounding natural to Leon

"Just a coffee please…" said Leon with a hand on his chin

"Right away sir!" said Lucy walking towards the espresso machine

"You don't have much of an accent there…" commented Leon as she handed him over the coffee

"Neither have you, Americano!" she said in response "Just the accent you have tells everything!"

"What about you?"

"Oh, Italian mother and American father equals me! I probably learned to talk mostly from him"

"Sure is nice to have a non-British talking buddy…" commented Leon

"Oh? We're buddies already?" said Lucy but joke fully

All of a sudden, a blond man some inches away from him stepped up.

"Questo è un luogo piacevole!" said the man in a language Leon did not understand

"Grazie!" replied Lucy smiling very cheerfully to that man "Tornare in qualsiasi momento!"

"Oh, lo farò!" said the man walking towards the door "Ben presto infatti…"

He seemed to smile a little maliciously as he exited, to Leon.

"Arrivederci" waved Lucy as he exited

"What was that all about?" asked Leon still trying to figure out what was that scene all about

"Did I mention Italian mother?" said Lucy "As you can see you're not my only talking buddy here at 'Angel's Nest'!"

"Sounds like the population of outsiders will grow very soon in the United Kingdom!"

"If you go to London, you'll see how!" confirmed Lucy "If you don't mind me asking americano, what is someone from the United States doing in plain Europe?"

"Promotion from the British police…"

"Oh! So this is the first time you've stepped onto Europe, eh?"

"Been in Spain actually… On a rescue mission!"

"No shit!" said Lucy visibly enjoying the talk

"Cox! What are you doing?! You're still on the job!" yelled her boss from the kitchen

Leon stood up.

"Guess I should be going…" said Leon shaking hands with Lucy

"You come back soon! Actually it's what I've said to that Italian guy just now!" said Lucy pulling her tongue out and winking

"I can assume you say that to all the outside guys you meet! Later…" said Leon finishing his small walk for that day

* * *

"Done!" said Fiona as her essay on Anatomy was done

Hewie was watching her from underneath the working desk. He had a leash on his teeth. Fiona patted him on the head with her hand.

"Ready then boy?" she said cheerfully and the dog barked several times in joy

Hewie always enjoyed night walks on the park of the city. Fiona started t enjoy them, due to his company.

As she placed on his jacket once again, the phone near the entrance rang. After putting the leash on Hewie and half-opening the door, she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Belli, you won't even know what you just missed this afternoon on the café!"

"Lucy… Calling so late?" said Fiona pleasantly surprised

"You doing anything?"

"Just getting ready to take Hewie out for a walk…" said Fiona as Hewie peeked with his nose on the door

"Oh, it's just I'm going to my momma's tomorrow, and I was wondering if you could take over for me!"

"I suppose, since I'm done with those essays… You're just lucky it's a Saturday!"

"Thank you… And… can I fill you in on what you missed?"

"You feel a little lonely there don't you…?"

"Today an Italian and an American were at the café!"

"Oh really? Dang I missed a chance to interact…"

Fiona found herself remembering the handsome blond guy she had a one-shot encounter with. She wondered if he was one of the guys Lucy was talking about.

"Oh, and I think there's something ya should know… One of them asked about you!"

"Wait what?" asked Fiona surprised

She took a slight deep breath but remained calm.

"Who did?" asked Fiona

"Ummmm… I can't quite put my finger on it right now… I'm too tired to remember…"

Fiona found herself wondering if the blond guy had somehow noticed her in a very different way she had noticed him.

"But anyways I'd appreciate if you took over for me tomorrow."

"I will, I will! Don't you worry about it!" said Fiona showing a cheerful voice "I've got to go now, okay?"

"Okay, and if one of them asks about me, say you took over for me"

"Sure, bye now…"

"Bye"

As Fiona walked with Hewie through the park, she couldn't help but to wonder who the blond was. Was he the Italian one? Or the American one? She was a little worried about going to work tomorrow now… What if she found one of them again? Lucy was very outgoing and one of the main reasons why the café had many usual customers.

Fiona however, failed in being the good and nice waitress. Not that she wasn't nice (she actually never replied to anyone who molested her), but she wasn't brave enough to start a conversation easily. Ever since the adventure at Belli castle, she noticed she was a bit tenser with the opposite sex.

But she decided to throw those matters aside for a while and play with Hewie, by playing the usual fetch game with a stick…

* * *

"Welcome to duty Mr Kennedy…" greeted Mr Barry, Leon's new boss "So very glad you've decided to take our proposal"

"Nah, everyone needs some fresh air once in a while…" said Leon giving him a strong handshake and then rubbing his hands against each other

That day to Leon was being one hell of a welcome party from his new British colleagues. The rookies at least looked at him with admiration stamped on their faces.

"There is a specific reason why we wanted an American agent with fame such as yours to work for our prestigious police… You see, there have been strange occurrences in all of the United Kingdom…"

Leon didn't speak, waiting for him to fill him in.

"The first case happened about six months ago, in Sheffield…" said the Chief of the Police as he picked a file from a drawer in his desk "Perhaps you'd like to take one fast glance at these, before I tell you exactly what happened"

Leon took the file in his hands and opened it; his stomach gave a small turn despite the things he had seen in Racoon City and on Spain.

"After Sheffield, it was on Manchester… and then on Birmingham… then on Bristol… Sooner or later it had to have been in London, but there was more than one victim when such tragedies stroke our capital…"

Leon kept turning the pictures in his hands. Coincidence was the first thing that popped in his head.

"This couldn't be possibly done by one single mastermind…"

But yet the young girls that appeared dead in the photographs all of them had the same opening mark in their tummies. All of them had blank eyes, like all the life had been sucked from them before they were killed.

"But if it's being done by a gang we have to admit it's the same mastermind!"

"All I can think of right now is on the word 'Coincidences'! Freaking coincidences in all of these cases… All the girls have different aspects but yet they bare exactly the same death marks…"

"Oh, Mr Kennedy, there is a coincidence to these deaths, far more vital to its solution, than on the death marks these dead girls bare…" said the Chief with a very, very serious look on his face

Leon raised his head slowly, ready to listen…

* * *

It was the end of the afternoon and he still hadn't let go of the file his boss had given him. The pictures were already with his fingerprint marks due to the fact that he had been watching them countless times. He eventually laid the file in his new desk, and looked up at the ceiling while taking a deep breath.

"The same name…" he mumbled to himself

"Excuse me, Sir…" said a young voice

Leon looked to his right and saw a red-haired boy staring at him with a shy-looking expression on his freckled face. He recognized him as one of the rookies that had stared at him with amazement.

"What's up Red?" Leon asked trying to be nice

"I just had to come here and tell you… How much I admire you for taking on all those risky dangers! And I swear to death that I will become just like you when I prove to the Man that I'm no mere rookie…"

Leon chuckled to himself, staring at the boy with a humorous face.

"That's nice kiddo… But don't think missions you'll be onto will be like shooting dummies, or playing 'Metal Gear'… ummmm, what's your name again son?"

"Neville! Dumb little brother; we have to be getting home! Mom's waiting with the bacon for dinner!"

A girl, also red-haired came from behind the boy, slapping him softly on the back of his head. Although she didn't have many freckles, and had green eyes, brighter than the boy's dark-green eyes, anyone could tell they were siblings just by looking at them.

"Mr Kennedy, I'm so sorry my twin brother had to be sticking his nose again!" said the girl looking at her brother with a lecturing tone in her voice as she looked at him

"It's alright, guess I'll still have to get used to fans here…" said Leon standing up

The girl decided to be nice and gave her hand to shake to Leon. He gave her a soft shake, but noticed how firmly she had shaken back. She sure wasn't in the police, because everyone was doing it.

"The name's Natalie Fox, by the way!" the girl said studying him with her bright grass-colored eyes "This in Neville, my twin brother and you're number one fan… We're the Fox twins, just for a reference!"

The continued to have their small talk, as they exited from the police station.

"If you… ever need an assistant for a mission or so… please pick me! I can prove that I'm better than anyone else here!"

Natalie slapped her brother on the top of his head.

"Oh, stop it Neville… You won't be getting all the guts very soon I guarantee you!"

Neville looked back at his Twin sister with a frown then headed up to a black Volvo, parked nearby.

"Your brother sure wants to prove his bravery here…" said Leon not knowing if he was supposed to make a little fun out of the boy, or think about the courage that he tried to show.

Natalie shook her shoulders, and threw her red hair behind her back.

"Oh, younger twin brothers… He always wanted to be recognized as a hero, always said he would be the one to end all evil in the world! Guess that's why I somehow ended up following the path to becoming a part of the force myself! Besides… I feel somewhat responsible for his safety, you know…"

Leon was linking Natalie's personality. She was visibly dedicating her life to the protection of her younger twin sibling. Despite his personality, she had the deep love of a sister towards him. That was noticeable in her voice.

"Hey, uh, can you give me a lift? I need to go to this place, but it's kind of far…"

"Sure… What place? A bar, or something?"

"To a café called 'Angel's Lair'"

Natalie laughed a little then looked back at him.

"So you've met Lucy, I presume…" she said laughing again at the surprise installed on Leon's expression "Oh, my brother has been having this silly crush over her ever since he went there and ate with some friends. But because I don't want to be late for dinner because of his crush, can we leave you in a street nearby , and then you go there by foot?"

"Not very harm done, I guess…" said Leon as he hopped into the Fox's car

All through the way, ignoring most of the comments Neville threw over him, he thought again of the vital hint he had received after knowing of the case of those young girls.

"_All the girls murdered had the same first name…"_

How was he ever going to find a vital hint to get through that?

But Leon always knew something would come up when he least expected it.

* * *

Fiona sat down at the counter, although she was wearing her waitress outfit and working full-time, like she had promised Lucy, the café was empty that day. Her boss wasn't yelling towards her like he used to when she worked part-time. Only an old man drinking his usual cup of tea was there.

She laid her head on the counter table, using her arms to make her head more comfy. Just when she was falling asleep, a ring made her jump in surprise.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to…"

"… It's alright, it's alright…" said Fiona now standing, and fixing herself up "What can I do for you?"

"Just a cup of coffee, please… By the way is your partner Lucy around?"

"I'm full-time, replacing her today…" said Fiona noticing it was one of the foreigners Lucy had talked about

Fiona walked to the coffee machine, and after she was done she handed it over to the customer with a kind smile.

"So, you'll have to put up with me today… I know you sympathized a lot with her yesterday…"

"You catch on real fast alright… Can I know your name for starters?"

"Oh, my name… Fiona… Fiona Belli"

Leon's hand froze at the cup of coffee.

"_All the girls murdered had the same first name…__**Fiona!**__ All of them had Fiona as a first name!"_

It was being a day of too many coincidences for him.

"Um, excuse me, sir, but I can tell you're not from England at all…" said Fiona still with a humble smile stamped on her face, tyring her best not to sound like a xenophobe, which she wasn't

Leon looked at her without disguising his stunned expression. Fiona looked back at him, visibly curious about the american agent.

"The name's Leon… Leon S Kennedy!"


End file.
